This invention relates to a composition for treating the condition of scours in calves and, in particular, a composition containing a novel combination of three sources of energy to provide accelerated rehydration of afflicted calves.
When weaned, young calves are stressed by the change in diet and other conditions as well as by transportation to another location. At this time in their young life, a significant percentage of calves develop diarrhea, a condition generally referred to as scours, which leads to dehydration. The result of dehydration is at best significant weight loss and, at worst, death. The loss of young stock to this cause is a substantial burden to the livestock industry.
Since the condition tends to be progressive, any method or composition used to arrest the condition and rehydrate an animal should be capable of acting promptly in the intestinal tract. While the administration of antibiotics has been used, the results have not been satisfactory in reducing the mortality rate and decreasing weight loss in surviving animals. The search for alternative treatment compositions has led to the use of mixtures of glucose and glycine along with electrolytes such as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,328. Among the advantages attributed to the mixture of glucose, glycine and electrolytes is the ability to store the dry mixture for reasonable periods before adding to water for administration.
The next improvement in the treatment of scours came about through the addition of a fibrous component such as psyllium which acts as a water binding swelling agent in the intestines and reportedly carries with it a lactose decomposing enzyme. The fibrous component is combined with a like amount of electrolytes and glucose as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,396. The response time of the treatment is stated to be much improved over the prior art methods of treating scours.
Alternatively, treatment compositions utilizing large percentages of sugar such as glucose or galactose have been proposed for use, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,164,568 and 5,008,248. The glucose constituent is the dominant portion of the composition, typically 75 percent, to which is added an amino acid, such as glycine, a citrate salt and electrolytes. These compositions are reportedly useful due to the ease of formulation, palatability and stability.